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An international naval coalition becomes the world’s last hope for survival as they engage a hostile alien force of unimaginable strength.

IS IT A GOOD MOVIE?

What was anyone really expecting from a movie based off a Hasbro board game? Not even a board game with a storyline or any type, just plain ol’ BATTLESHIP. I grew up with it and I remember playing it and of course the memorable catch phrase “You sunk my battleship!” It was fun, but never once did my wild childhood imagination think Gee, this would make a super awesome movie!

Seriously. What did people expect? Did they expect it to have a plot that made sense? Probably not. Did they expect it to have Academy Award worthy performances? Probably not. Of course, that didn’t stop Oscar-nominated actor Liam Neeson from taking on a minor role in the film, but still. Did they expect to moved by tears or to give the film a standing ovation at the end? Probably not.

I suspect what most people expected was a silly, mindless action film filled with Michael Bay-esque explosions, sub-par acting, cheesy dialogue, top-notch special effects, hokey in-your-face 3D imagery and to be generally entertained in the most ridiculous way, as made possible by power of cinema.

If the latter, more realistic expectations of the film are what you want to see, then I suspect that you won’t be disappointed.

THE EXTRAS

Alternate Ending Previsualization: Peter Berg does an introduction for the clip and talks about why this ending wasn’t chosen. Then the alternative is shown, of course all very roughly with early stage computer graphics.

The Visual Effects Of BATTLESHIP: Of course, this feature deals with the special effects that were used to bring BATTLESHIP to life. You get a behind-the-scenes look at what went into making the effects and how they were made.

All Access With Director Peter Berg: This is just the film’s commentary that you can watch with Peter Berg as he talks about BATTLESHIP.

Commander Pete: As you can imagine, this feature is all about director Peter Berg. You get to watch him in action on set with the cast and crew.

Preparing For Battle: The cast and the crew talk about their experiences playing the actual Battleship game that was originally put out by Hasbro. They talk about what they liked about the game (if they played it) and some of the crew talk about the different versions of the game they’ve seen over the years. The cast and crew then get into the process of how they turned the game into a movie and some previsualization stuff is shown and other things that led to the final product.

All Hands On Deck: The Cast: The cast and crew talk about working with one another and working with Peter Berg. The main focus is, however, the individual actors and what their experience was working on the film.

Engage In Battle: Shooting At Sea and All Aboard The Fleet: Are two separate features with the first, Shooting At Sea, focusing on the pros and cons of filming the movie on the ocean instead of in a studio. The second feature, Shooting on the Ships, is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a similar feature to Shooting at Sea, but instead this deals with the pros and cons of working aboard an actual battleship.

FINAL DIAGNOSIS

BATTLESHIP is definitely not for everyone. It’s ridiculous, kind of stupid (and by kind of, I mean mostly) and you will very likely roll your eyes at one or two parts. However, if you take the film at face value and just enjoy it for the mindless train wreck that it is, there’s a good chance you’ll come out of it not feeling gypped.

I don’t think I can recommend buying BATTLESHIP at its full price, but if you want to rent it or wait for it to come down in price (should be anywhere from a few weeks to a couple months), it might be worth checking out then.